When I was a kid, I took The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family very seriously. It was a world to me in the same way that the Greek myths would have been had I read them. You know, Marcia is Athena and Mr. Brady is Zeus. – George Saunders
A John Updike is a once-in-a-generation phenomenon, if that generation is lucky: so comfortable in so many genres, the same lively, generous intelligence suffusing all he did. – George Saunders
Im finding, as I get older, that Im not much of a believer in redemption. I mean, I believe in redemption in real life – redemption does happen, and its cool when it does – but I find myself getting leery of my desire for it in stories (especially my own). – George Saunders
We have that illusion that we are deciding what to make a character do, in order to convey our message or something like that. But, at least in my experience, you are often more like a river-rafting guide whos been paid a bonus to purposely steer your clients into the roughest possible water. – George Saunders